A dazzling (and new!) first impression

By Jeff Gire

The new Schott Admission and Enrollment Services Building. Illustration courtesy of The Maude Group.

October 1, 2011

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The Patricia A. and Stephen C. Schott Admission and Enrollment Services Building rises.

Location:Palm Drive
ETA:Fall 2012

A year from now, Santa Clara University will make a new first impression with a building that is a one-stop shop for all student services—and is sure to have visitors “immediately immersed in what Santa Clara is all about,” in the words of Joe Sugg, assistant vice president for University Operations.

The Patricia A. and Stephen C. Schott Admission and Enrollment Services Building will be the first building you see by entering campus through the main entrance. It will house five departments—admissions, enrollment, financial aid, the registrar, and bursar—for the convenience of parents, prospective students, and current students. Ground was broken in April.

The new building has goals of gold LEED certification and energy efficiency 40 to 50 percent better than California’s exacting building codes.

Graham Hall is gone. Long live Graham Hall.

Graham Hall returns. Illustration courtesy of The Maude Group

Location:Bellomy and The Alameda, on the footprint of old Graham
ETA:Fall 2012

For nearly 50 years, the Graham complex served as a home for Santa Clara undergrads. This summer the complex came down—to make way for a new neighborhood of Graham Hall residences.

Housing Facilities Director Mako Ushihara provides specs: 125,000 square feet; 350 beds; and all rooms will be “mini-doubles”—two double-occupancy rooms sharing a bathroom. On the sustainability front, the new residence will apply for silver LEED certification and will also reuse tiles from the old Graham.

Former members of the “Grahamily” looking for an immediate nostalgia fix should read “Remembrance of things Graham” for alumni memories of pranks, parties, and the famous Graham pool.

Benson’s in hot water—in the best way

Diners at Benson Memorial Center won’t notice, but this spring each bite of their lunch got a little bit greener—in a good way—thanks to a cutting-edge solar technology installed on the roof. The 60-collector system, made by Chromasun, was the largest of its kind built in California when it was installed. A similar (and much smaller) system was installed last year on the roof of the solar-powered house built by SCU students for the 2007 Solar Decathlon.

Rather than harnessing the sun’s rays to produce electricity, the collectors concentrate solar energy to 25 times normal, generating temperatures up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit—temperatures hot enough to boil water and transfer energy to the building at sunset. The concentrated solar energy is used to heat or cool buildings or provide hot water. They should shave Benson’s water-heating bills by as much as 70 percent and offset 34 tons of CO2—closing the gap to SCU’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by the end of 2015. Justin Gerdes